Help! I Think My Toddler Learned Curse Words From the Babysitter!

While chatting with other parents, we came across a question that really got us thinking: what do you do when you think your toddler curses and you think she picked it up from her babysitter or daycare? Our mom friend said that her 19-month-old baby girl recently started daycare. She came home making sounds “ohsssii.” Use your imagination to figure out what she may have been saying! Now, if baby girl was just making that sound, mom may have thought nothing of it. Coupled with the fact that she was using it at “perfect” moments, like when she dropped something or something went wrong, and it’s hard to deny that her toddler learned curse words somewhere!

What do you do in that situation? Do you bring it up with the teacher? How to do you handle it when your toddler curses? We have those answers for you!

Parenting Tips: What to do when your toddler curses

It’s something that all parents dread will eventually happen. What is it? The answer is hearing your toddler use a curse word. Unfortunately, your toddler is like a sponge, soaking up everything around them, learning how to speak and communicate by watching how you speak and communicate. Although this is a necessary step in your toddler’s development, what do you do when your toddler curses that first bad word? And what do you do if you think your toddler learned it from a trusted person such as the babysitter?

Confirm Your Toddler Cursed

Before freaking out that your toddler said a curse word, make sure that you heard your child correctly. Toddlers don’t usually enunciate all of their words properly, so something as innocent as the word “truck” can sound like a horrible curse word. To do this, use your child’s sentence to help figure out the meaning of the word they’re trying to use or ask your toddler if they meant something else. Hopefully, the curse word was simply a mispronunciation on your child’s part. If not, it’s time to investigate and figure out if your child learned it from the babysitter.

Approach Your Babysitter

If you truly believe that your toddler learned curse words from his babysitter, then you need to confront this person. Approach your babysitter and let them know that you heard your toddler say a certain word. You don’t need to accuse the babysitter to their face, but you can politely let them know that those words are not used around your house and that you hope that this is a one-time thing. By approaching your babysitter, you can find out if there are any other details you should know. Maybe the babysitter had a TV show on and your toddler heard that word on the TV. You could then ask your babysitter to refrain from watching shows that have curse words in it, an easy solution to a difficult problem.

Find Another Babysitter

Unfortunately, if your toddler did learn curse words from your babysitter, you might not feel comfortable leaving your toddler in their care anymore. If this is the case, then you might want to find another babysitter. Before taking this step, however, be sure in your decision. You’ll have a lot of work ahead of you interviewing possible babysitter candidates.

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I would confront the caretaker or babysitter about it but not accuse them. I think firing the babysitter just because your child said that they learned the word from that person is a bit harsh. First off, kids lie. They could learn the word from anyone. Mom, Dad, siblings, relatives, tv..etc..just because your child said it was from a certain person doesn’t necessarily make it true. Secondly, it could of been a slip of the tongue. Yes, even you the parent could’ve said a bad word in front of your child on accident. No one is perfect. As long as the babysitter isn’t intentionally dropping F bombs in front of your little one then I would just let it go. The worst thing you could do is make a big deal out of it. Then the child will want to repeat the word.

I freaked out when I heard Abby curse and I confronted her to find out where she heard the word from. What a great post with some really valuable information. Thanks so much for sharing, childcare is the most important task we should undergo.

Well I have to admit that my second child picked up “Damn it” from me! I hurt myself and damn it just came out. We resolved the problem by simply ignoring it, and not drawing attention to it. He said it a few times and in correct context, but we didn’t draw much attention to it and he soon stopped saying it. But we also had to be careful not to say it again around him. Sometimes I think parents can be much worse than babysitters. 😉